Get to Know Dr. Jennifer Smythe, ASCO President

Jennifer Smythe. Dean of the College of Optometry. Pacific University.

Recently ASCO’s Director of Communications sat down with Dr. Jennifer Smythe to discuss her role as ASCO President.

ASCO: What will be your main priorities this coming year?
Dr. Jennifer Smythe: We have great momentum with the marketing campaign we have been working on and we will continue to promote the optometric profession and to achieve our goal of increasing the applicant pool to our 21 schools and colleges of optometry. We want the world to know we’re optometry and this is what we do.

Interprofessional education is also important to me because collaborative care is the future. We need to be thinking about what health care will look like and how it will evolve while continuing to enhance the overall wellbeing of the patient.

I also hope to learn what all of our schools and colleges are doing and what unique experiences we can share with our faculty and students of optometry. We need to keep on top of the changing technology and tools in the field of optometric education as well as ways to best communicate with our students. I will support all of our member institutions in any way I can and offer resources including my time and the talents of our faculty, committees and board of directors. Allocating resources for a grant program and other important initiatives are in ASCO’s future.

ASCO: How will ASCO help in implementing your priorities?
JS: We have so much expertise! We don’t have to necessarily look outside ourselves for resources. We will continue tapping into member institutions as well as ASCO staff. Establishing an IPE task force is on the forefront and staff at ASCO headquarters will be vital in making this group cohesive and functional.

ASCO: What are you looking forward to the most during this coming year?
JS: Hearing from all the institutions about their programs and ideas and what is working for them and what is not. I’m a lifelong learner and I am looking forward to learning from my colleagues. Such as: learning what barriers our schools and colleges have overcome; what opportunities are offered to our schools and colleges; what issues other health professions are facing; what can I learn that will benefit my institution, and so on.

I’m also looking forward to connecting with students and keeping communication fresh and current.

ASCO: Will your duties as Dean of Pacific University, College of Optometry change during your presidency?
JS: My role will not change. The time to be ASCO President came at a great time. Timing is everything. This is my sixth year as Dean of Pacific University, College of Optometry. I know my role and the needs of the position and it allows me to carve out time for ASCO while still being involved with optometric education. I have an extremely supportive team and am supported by our Provost and President.

ASCO: Where did your passion for optometric education come from?
JS: My story is probably similar to many. I grew up in a small town in Alaska — Kodiak, Alaska. I worked for a Pacific alumnus because my original aspiration was to join his practice in pediatrics. However, during my second year in optometry school, my contact lens professor, Cristina Schnider, influenced me and I wanted to learn more from her. She got me involved in research. I was her teaching assistant and her second contact lens resident.

I love academia because every day is different. I am constantly challenged. It is one thing to know it. It’s another thing to convey the information to students. Being able to use research to validate clinical anecdotes was fun for me. Research is fascinating because you may have a theory in your mind but you need to go out and find if that theory is true or not.

ASCO: What piece of advice would you give to a student who is interested in becoming an optometrist? Or a student who has the aptitude but may not know about optometry? A parent? A current optometrist or mentor?
JS: This is very apropos. My son is a junior at Pacific and is pre-optometry. To a student or potential student I’d say to shadow as many optometrists as you can and learn about the specialty areas in optometry so you have a broad understanding of what optometrists do, and what opportunities are available. I’d also tell the student the curriculum is very challenging. Success starts with not only identifying what you want to do but also WHY you want to do it. That is why shadowing an optometrist is so important. I would encourage a potential student of optometry to seek out alumni from various schools and colleges to learn about which institution is best for them.

We need to do a much better job at sharing information about our profession to high school and college students, not just with pre optometry and health advisors. Being a doctor of optometry positively impacts someone’s life almost instantly. Applying a contact lens to someone is amazing. It’s like painting leaves on the trees. The profession is rewarding, you help people and you’re constantly learning. We also play important roles in managing the overall health of our patients.

As a parent I’m absolutely thrilled my son has decided to enter a profession where he’ll thrive. There are so many opportunities for him. I have great pride when I think of his future. It requires a significant investment but there’s a significant demand for optometrists. I’d encourage parents to educate their children about the field.

To current optometrists I say, “We need you!” We need optometrists to send us students. Roll up your shirt sleeves and open your doors to students and have honest conversations about the profession. Talk to them about what they do on a daily basis. What rewards they gain by being an optometrist. Doctors of optometry are the most influential group to the entering class of optometry students. Not their health advisors or college professors, but current doctors of optometry.

ASCO: Congratulations on being the first female president of ASCO. Would you care to comment?
JS: I’m happy and proud to be the president of ASCO and proud to be the first female president. I feel this is an organic natural reflection of the changing demographics of the student population.

Can I brag for a moment? The first female president of the American Academy of Optometry, Joan Exford, Dori Carlson the first female president of the American Optometric Association, and I all received degrees from the Pacific University, College of Optometry!

ASCO: Speaking of Pacific University, College of Optometry, this is your opportunity to “plug” your institution. Tell us something about Pacific that we may not know.
JS: We are a really vibrant and unique community. Our university is very diversified. There are ten  other health profession programs at our institution. As a college of optometry we have done a wonderful job expanding the scope of practice in Oregon and using that in our curriculum.

We focus on behavioral optometry and are very loyal to our roots. When we see a patient, we learn how we can enhance that patient’s life by improving their vision and health. That is behavioral optometry. It’s a privilege to work with an individual and help him or her become more functional and successful through their eyes and vision. That is Pacific’s fundamental core.

ASCO: On a more personal note, tell us about you a little. What was the last vacation you took? Last good book you read; any hobbies, etc.
JS: I took a vacation to France his summer. It fed my interest in history. Paris is the most amazing city on the planet. That was my last true vacation. I like to read a lot. I enjoy historical fiction and I’m in the middle of Maeve Binchy’s latest book. She writes about people in interesting ways and develops characters you want to get to know better.

I also enjoy cooking. I would consider myself a foodie and love trying new restaurants. My family and I enjoy playing games, especially my 16 year old daughter, and when I can I also garden.

###